The effect of compositions, sintering temperatures and furnace atmospheres on the superconducting transition temperatures of several members of the series Pb₂Sr₂R_1−xCa_xCu₃O_z(0.0⩽x⩽0.7, R=Y, Gd) has been studied. The effect of partial replacement of Pb, Ca and Y by In has also been studied. The shapes of the resistivity-temperature curves and the zero resistance temperatures are found to be extremely sensitive to the synthesis parameters employed. Superconductivity is not observed in samples treated in oxidizing atmosphere or heated at very high temperatures. Samples sintered in flowing nitrogen showed incomplete transition in resistivity starting at about 75 K and extending down to 15 K. A new and comparatively simple synthesis procedure involving treatment of the samples in vacuum has been employed to obtain nearly single-phase materials showing metallic behaviour. Using this procedure, samples of the above composition, but containing no Ca(i.e. Pb₂Sr₂RCu₃O_z, R=Y and Dy), are also found to be superconducting with zero resistance up to 48 K.

¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer studies have been performed on the compounds EuBa₂(Cu_1−xZn_x)₃O_7−y withx=0·0, 0·025, 0·05, 0·075 and 0·1. The parent compound, EuBa₂Cu₃O_7−y is superconducting with a transition temperature (T_c) of 88 K.T_c is depressed as Zn is substituted for Cu in this system and the compounds withx>0·05 do not show superconductivity down to 12 K.¹⁵¹Eu Mössbauer studies at 295 K show a single Mössbauer line in all the compounds (whether superconducting or not) with isomer shift value typical of Eu^{3 +} ion. Further, the isomer shift values are nearly independent ofx and the temperatures down to 10 K. These observations imply that the Cu-O network responsible for superconductivity is very weakly coupled to the Eu sublattice.

HighT_c phase (T_c ∼ 110 K) has been obtained in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system by partially substituting Bi by Pb. Magnetic hysteresis has been measured as a function of temperature. Critical current densities have been measured at 77 K both by transport and a.c. magnetization method in bulk samples for various concentrations of Pb. The results show that substitution of 15 at % Pb for Bi is most preferable for higher critical current density.

The compound PrBa₂Cu₃O_{7 −y} is not superconducting while most other RBa₂Cu₃O_{7 −y} (R=rare earth) compounds exhibit superconductivity in the 90K range. The system PrBa_{2 −x}Pr_xCu₃O_{7 −x} has been prepared to study the effect of excess Pr at the Ba site on the structure, resistivity and magnetic behaviour of this system. It is observed that single-phase compounds in the above series form forx=0·8—that is up to the composition Pr_1·8Ba_1·2Cu₃O_{7 −y}. While stoichiometric PrBa₂Cu₃O_{7 −y} is orthorhombic, the compounds with excess Pr show tetragonal structure. Four-probe dc resistivity measurements show that all the single-phase compounds in the above series do not exhibit superconductivity and are semiconducting down to 12 K. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal deviation from Curie-Weiss behaviour starting at a characteristic temperature, which is taken to be the ordering temperature (T_N) of the Pr moments. BothT_N and overall resistivity decrease with increasingx and may have a common origin.

This paper describes the method of producing plasma sprayed coatings of hydroxy apatite (HA) on metallic substrates of Ti-6Al-4V. Hydroxy apatite is a material which has similar composition to that of the mineral phase of the human bone. Poor mechanical properties however inhibits its use in the load bearing applications. The powders prepared in our laboratory are sprayed using a plasma spray torch operating in ambient. The deposited coatings are charaterized by X-ray diffraction and found to retain HA in the coatings as per requirements.

The superconducting properties of single phase La_1·5−xCa_x+yBa_1·5−yCu₃O_z, 0·0≤x≤0·60 (LC) and 0·0≤y≤0·70 (CB), compounds with tetragonal triple-perovskite structure are studied, using X-ray diffraction for their resistivity, a.c. susceptibility, and oxygen-content. La_1·5−xCa_xBa_1·5Cu₃O_z (LC) samples, 0·15≤x≤0·60, are superconducting withT_c^R=0 between 40 and 74 K. With the increase inx, the oxygen content, hole concentration in the CuO₂ layers as well as theT_c increase. It is interesting to find that although the hole concentration and oxygen stoichiometry of the LaCa_0·5+yBa_1·5−yCu₃O_z (CB) compounds increase with the increase iny, theT_c^R=0 remains nearly constant around 74 K fory=0·0−0·70. A correlation exists between theT_c and the hole concentration for LC and CB compounds.